At dawn outside the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, a group of volunteers clad in bright neon vests gathered around a lifeless orange and green bird found beneath the building’s skywalk.
Speculating about the species, one volunteer questioned, “Is it a female?” while another suggested it might be an oriole.
These volunteers are part of a coalition of environmental groups that diligently monitor bird deaths during migration seasons.
Each fall and spring, they scour downtown to collect both deceased and stunned birds that collide with buildings.
Mei Ling Liu, a representative from the Texas Conservation Alliance, stated, “In the fall, you’ll start seeing warblers coming, then sparrows, and towards the end of the season in November, we see a lot of American Woodcocks.”
Liu noted that since the monitoring efforts began five years ago, thousands of birds have been collected and sent to the Perot Museum for storage.
From there, the species are processed for documentation at the Texas A&M Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collection lab.
According to Nathan May, a volunteer with the Trinity River Audubon Center, bird populations in North America have decreased by an alarming 3 billion in the last five decades.
“That’s a big percentage of the birds,” he remarked, highlighting the severity of the situation.
Every year, millions of migratory birds traverse through Texas, journeying from north to south and back.
It’s estimated that hundreds of these birds die in downtown Dallas as a result of collisions, making it the third deadliest city in the U.S. for bird fatalities.
One notable culprit is the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center itself, particularly due to its high, reflective windows on the skybridge, which pose a significant threat to avian species.
Liu explained that volunteers assess the collision rate depending on the window height, checking the underground spaces for any fallen birds.
In light of their findings, volunteers are advocating for the city to reconsider the redesign of the convention center to be more bird-friendly.
They are proposing measures like turning off lights at night as part of the ‘Lights Out’ campaign, which aims to reduce disorientation among migrating birds.
Additionally, implementing patterned glass that birds can see from a distance could help prevent collisions, as emphasized by Kaitlyn Parkins from the American Bird Conservancy.
“The birds recognize those pattern elements as solid barriers, and they turn around and fly the other way,” she explained during a recent webinar.
Parkins works to raise awareness among architects, engineers, and the public regarding bird-safe building designs.
A successful example of this approach can be seen in the Javits Center in New York City, which, before its 2012 renovation, was responsible for the deaths of thousands of birds each year.
After installing bird-safe glass, bird casualties dropped by an impressive 90-95%.
Dallas Assistant City Manager Robin Bentley indicated in early September that the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center’s design team is taking the data collected by volunteers into account for the new design.
May underscored the necessity of ongoing monitoring of bird deaths, emphasizing their vital role within ecosystems.
By adopting a revised design for the convention center, he believes Dallas has the opportunity to save countless bird lives and enhance the city overall.
“Where birds thrive,” he stated, “people prosper.”
image source from：keranews
